Henry Edward “Harry” Smith was born in Canso, Guysborough County, on March 30, 1913. Harry’s father, James Edward, was the son of William and Sabine Lavinia (Boudreau) Smith, East Port Medway, Queens County. His mother, Teresa Etta, was the daughter of Martin and Phoebe Murphy, Tangier/Spry Bay, Halifax County. James and Teresa married in Canso on February 14, 1912, and made their home in the coastal community, where James worked in a local fish plant.
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| Private Henry Edward "Harry" Smith |
Harry was the oldest of James and Theresa’s eight children. By the time of the 1921 Canadian census, three more children—William George “Bill” (DOB February 11, 1915); Katherine Elvina (DOB August 17, 1917); and Robert Lawrence “Bob” (DOB February 2, 1920)—had joined the household. Another three Smith children were born prior to the next decennial census—Nora Mary (DOB September 13, 1921); Howard James (DOB May 8, 1923); and Lillian Constance “Connie” (DOB February 9, 1931). The couple’s youngest child, Edmund Joseph, was born on March 1, 1936.
Harry Smith left public school after completing Grade IV. In later years, he attended night classes during military training for three hours each week to upgrade his education. Upon entering the work force, Harry was employed as a general labourer for 14 years and as a carpenter for two years. Around 1939, he purchased property at Milford Haven Bridge, where he operated a mixed farm.
On December 11, 1942, Harry reported to No. 6 District Depot, Halifax, having been “called up” under the terms of the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA). The 1940 federal law required all men of military service age to register with the government. They were then randomly selected for a compulsory three-week military training program.
A week and a half after reporting to the Depot, Harry enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force. He remained in Halifax for the rest of the month and proceeded to No. 14 Infantry Training Centre, Aldershot, for basic training on January 8, 1943. Granted “agricultural leave” from May 1 to June 11, 1943, Harry returned to Aldershot, where he spent the summer before departing for overseas on September 13. Six days later, he disembarked in the United Kingdom.
Harry was immediately assigned to No. 7 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CIRU), where he awaited assignment to an active infantry unit. During his time in the UK, he was attached for duty to Canadian Army Headquarters for one week in late October. Harry then moved on to No. 1 Canadian General Reinforcement Unit, where he was assigned to “regimental watch duties” for three months.
On February 4, 1944, Harry was transferred to No. 2 CIRU, the next step toward service with an active infantry unit. Ten days later, his name was placed on the Mediterranean theatre’s reinforcement list. He embarked from the UK on February 17 and landed in Italy two weeks later. In early March, Harry’s name was placed on the 1st Canadian Division’s active reinforcement list.
On April 5, 1944, Harry was assigned to the Princess Louise Fusiliers’ reinforcement list. The Halifax-based militia unit had recruited two machine gun companies for service with the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, which was part of the Allied force fighting in Italy. Throughout the spring and summer months, Harry awaited orders to report for duty.
As Canadian units in Italy spent much of the summer training, there was little demand for reinforcements until they returned to combat in late August 1944. Within weeks, fighting in northeastern Italy resulted in significant casualties. As a result, Harry was re-assigned to the Cape Breton Highlanders on September 16, 1944, and joined its ranks in the field the following day.
The Cape Breton Highlanders (CBH) regiment traces its roots to the Victoria Provisional Battalion of Infantry, established in Baddeck, NS, on October 13, 1871. Re-designated the 94th Victoria Regiment, Argyll Highlanders, in 1900, the militia unit was placed on active service on August 6, 1914, and later provided recruits for the 185th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders. While the 185th crossed the North Atlantic to the United Kingdom in October 1916, the unit never saw active service on the continent. Instead, it remained in the UK, where it served as a reinforcement unit for Nova Scotia battalions in France and Belgium.
Officially disbanded in November 29, 1918, CBH was reconstituted as a Canadian militia unit on November 1, 1920, and was called to active service on August 26, 1939. The regiment subsequently mobilized the 1st Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders, for service with the Canadian Active Service Force on January 1, 1941. Ten months later, the unit departed for overseas.
After arriving in the United Kingdom, CBH was assigned to the 5th Canadian Armoured Division’s 11th Infantry Brigade, where it served alongside the Perth Regiment (Ontario) and the Irish Regiment of Canada (Toronto, ON). Its soldiers spent two years training in the United Kingdom before landing in Italy with the 5th Canadian Armoured Division (5th CAD) in November 1943.
In mid-January 1944, CBH commenced active service in sectors north of Ortona. The unit relocated to the front lines near the entrance to the Liri Valley in early April, in preparation for an Allied offensive against the Gustav and Hitler Lines, two German defensive networks located in the strategically important valley.
5th CAD was not involved in the initial attack, which commenced on May 11. During two weeks of hard fighting, Allied forces penetrated both lines. On May 25, 5th CAD entered the line during the “break out” phase as Allied forces advanced toward Rome. CBH’s week-long Liri Valley tour resulted in 30 combat fatalities and 126 wounded.
On June 3, CBH moved out to Ceprano for an extended period of rest and training. Three days later, news of the Allied landings in Normandy raised hopes that an end to the war was not far away. At mid-month, CBH relocated to Caiazzo, where the highlight of the summer was a July 30 visit to the unit’s camp by King George VI. Three days later, the battalion travelled through Rome to a staging area along the shores of Lake Bolsena, 130 kilometers north of the Italian capital.
Over the next three days, 5th CAD units made their way northeastward to an area near the Adriatic coast south of Pesaro. The Canadians’ next assignment was an assault on the Gothic Line, a German defensive network that stretched across the entire Italian peninsula, from the Adriatic coast through mountains north of Florence to a location on the Tyrrhenian Sea south of Spezia.
The British 8th Army, to which the Canadians were attached, was given the task of penetrating the line’s eastern sectors adjacent to the Adriatic Sea. The mission proved to be one of the Italian campaign’s most challenging assignments. While Allied forces managed to break through the Gothic Line during the last week of August, combat losses were significant. During a three-day tour in late August, CBH suffered 19 soldiers killed and another 44 wounded.
Canadian units then advanced northward toward the Rimini Line, a new defensive system hastily established by retreating German forces. While CBH was involved in a successful September 5 attack on San Andreas Ridge, the unit suffered another 11 fatalities and 40 wounded during its four days on the ridge. After a brief rest, personnel returned to the line on the night of September 12/13, its soldiers launching an early morning attack on Coriano Ridge.
CBH and its 11th Brigade mates successfully secured the ridge by late afternoon September 13 and retired to a rest camp near San Giovanni on the evening of September 14. Two and a half weeks of combat in the Rimini area had taken a severe toll on its ranks. CBH had suffered a total of 57 fatalities, while another 241 men were wounded during that time. As a result, the battalion commenced the process of rebuilding its depleted companies as soon as it withdrew from the line.
Private Henry Edward Smith was among the reinforcements who joined CBH’s ranks during its nine-day stay in rest camp. Harry commenced his first tour in the front line when the unit briefly relieved British units near Santa Giustina in the early hours of September 23. Prior to that date, the 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade managed to cross the Usi River and establish defensive positions to the left and right of the village of San Vito. Upon relieving its 12th Brigade comrades, CBH’s 11th CIB received orders to advance to the Rubicone River and establish a bridgehead at Fiumicino. Its units were then instructed to seize control of crossings over the Scolo Rigosso, a large drainage ditch, at Sant’ Angelo.
At 1340 hours September 26, CBH’s A Company led its personnel to a concentration area, from where the soldiers proceeded to relieve 12th CIB’s Westminster Regiment (British Columbia) at La Torre, near the Usi River. The Cape Bretoners now found themselves 20 kilometers north of their last combat assignment at Coriano Ridge. The battalion’s D Company moved into position at 2210 hours, the entire unit settled into the line by 0400 hours September 27.
Night patrols soon reported that a bridge across the Salto River at La Torre had been destroyed and the river was not fordable at that location. During the afternoon of September 27, CBH personnel advanced through severe artillery and mortar fire to the Vena River, where German small arms fire prevented further progress. By 1800 hours, the entire unit had managed to cross the Salto River at another location and held its ground in the face of heavy machine gun fire.
Throughout the night of September 27/28, German mortar and artillery fire struck CBH’s location, impacting B and D Companies in particular. Around 0700 hours September 28, D Company commenced a move forward toward the Rubicone, with orders to “consolidate along the river and secure [a] bridge” that was still believed to be intact. The soldiers “had not gone too far when they met considerable mortar and machine gun fire.”
At 0915 hours, CBH received word that enemy forces had destroyed the bridge. Artillery and mortar shelling continued throughout the morning as officers re-assessed the situation. While the unit initially received orders to conduct a night-time crossing of the Rubicone, the operation was cancelled in late afternoon. Meanwhile, D Company continued its advance toward the river, reaching its banks before midnight and establishing a defensive position. During that time, B Company also encountered significant enemy fire and called the unit’s Medical Officer forward “to attend to some casualties.”
For the remainder of September, CBH held its positions along the Rubicone River. The unit reported a total of 352 casualties during the month—two officers and 50 “other ranks” (OR) were killed, while 14 officers and 286 OR were wounded. Losses on September 28, 1944, were particularly severe. According to Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, a total of 10 CBH soldiers died that day.
Private Henry Edward Smith was one of the September 28, 1944 fatalities, killed in the exchanges of fire as CBH personnel advanced to the banks of the Rubicone. The exact circumstances of his death are unknown. Harry was initially buried in the 5th Canadian Armoured Division Cemetery, Cesena, Italy. In early October 1944, Harry’s mother Teresa received official notice of his death in combat. His remains were re-interred in Cesena British Cemetery, Cesena, Italy, on June 5, 1945.
Harry father’ James died at Boylston, NS, on October 13, 1956. He had resided in the community for approximately 16 years and was 77 years old at the time of his passing. James was laid to rest in St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Guysborough. His wife Teresa passed away in 1984 and was buried beside her husband.
Three of Harry’s brothers were in uniform at the time of his death. William George “Bill” was serving overseas with the Canadian Army. Bill had enlisted during the first months of the war and was stationed in Halifax when he married Lavinia Armsworthy, daughter of William A. Armsworthy and Hannah L. Feltmate, Queensport, in a ceremony that took place in the Baptist Parsonage, Halifax, on October 11, 1940.
The details of Bill’s overseas service are unknown, although it appears that he served in Western Europe. After the war, he and Lavinia established residence in Côte-Saint-Luc, Montreal, QC. No information is available on his civilian life. Bill passed away in Montreal on October 14, 1996, at 81 years of age.
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| Gunner Howard James Smith (kneeling) and unidentified comrade |
Howard James Smith served in Canada with a Royal Canadian Artillery unit during the war. After his discharge, he returned to Canso, where he worked in the local fishery. Howard fell ill in early 1955 and was diagnosed with reticulo-sarcoma, a form of malignant lymphoma. He died in Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, on March 2, 1955, two months shy of his thirty-second birthday. Single at the time of his passing, Howard was interred in Star of the Sea Cemetery, Canso, NS.
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| Private Robert Lawrence "Bob" Smith (left) and unidentified soldier |
Robert Lawrence “Bob” also enlisted with the Canadian Armed Forces during the war. On June 4, 1946, Bob marriage Evelyn May Swaine, daughter of Walter Swaine and Mary Spears, Upper Tickle, in a ceremony held in Canso. While Bob was working in a local fish plant at the time, he later re-enlisted with the Canadian Armed Forces and served for 24 years. After retirement, he and Evelyn resided in Dartmouth. Bob passed away in the Halifax Infirmary on April 24, 2011, at age 81.
Special thanks to Wendy (Smith) Wellwood, New Bandon, NB, for providing photographs of Harry, Howard and Bob Smith for this post.
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